Hunt AloneDeer hunting reservations are to an individually numbered property and when hunted that hunter hunts that farmland alone. This is as much for the quality of the deer hunt itself as a safety issue. Being able to hunt without competition from others, crossing boot prints or seeing stands when the sun comes up is what brings our hunters back for years of deer hunting to come. Deer hunting reservations are one numbered property per day per hunter. The average acreage per numbered property is 160 acres or a 1/4 section of land that is a 1/2 mile by 1/2 mile square. There are properties both larger, typically up to 640 acres or a full section at 1 mile square and down to 80 acres. The variance is due to deer habitat quality as we understand what it takes to have a good hunt and we work towards that in all regards. An example of working toward a good hunt is the 80 acre numbered property that may be a sub part of a 640 contiguous full section land. In the case of an 80 acre property that is subdivided from a larger contiguous acreage it is a not a matter of having a hunter on each 80 acre piece each day. It is management of some very productive habitat on a very good farm where during the season anyone going to that farm will commit to a very specific location and not just put random pressure on that land by walking through it. In the case of the hunter having an entire section or 640 acres of land reserved for his hunt that land typically only has habitat to sustain one hunter per day. In each case the hunter may move about and have as many stands or ground blinds as he may prefer. One rule many alert to initially and then later come to appreciate and employ to their benefit is the three day open reservations at a time rule (peak usage periods). This rule limits all hunters to not more than three days of reserved land per state, per hunting discipline. As soon as one day is consumed another may be added. This 3 day rule grew from deer hunters as a group change their minds of where they want to hunt far more frequently than all others combined. In the past we have let hunters book a property for a week at a time only to change their minds of where they want to hunt the day before that hunt and essentially have denied that property to all others that may have wanted to hunt the same farm. What drives this changing of hunt locations is that most deer hunters will scout a fair bit of ground, settle on two to three farms they want to hunt intensely and maybe three more as back up. On each farm they will have stands they prefer to hunt dependent on forecasted weather and wind conditions. Most will make an early reservation of their favorite farm and then the day or two before the hunt should the weather change they typically change their reservation. Within this association this kind of flexibility usually means a better hunting experience. Those that feel they must have a single farm secured for every day of their hunting trip regardless of weather/wind may do so by renewing their reservations. The above brief description is for during peak usage periods. During non peak periods we are more liberal with the reservation system.
ScoutingIt is the returning hunter that has enhanced opportunities for success by being able to spring turkey, pre season deer scouting and deer hunt all the same properties from season to season and year to year. Spending that kind of time on the ground will bring a better perception of deer patterns far greater than by being on a new property each hunt. The most successful deer hunters in MAHA typically scout between 2,000 and 4,000 acres each years spread across properties previously hunted as well as developing new options. For most half the farm scouted will be disappointing and the other half better than what was previously discovered. It will not be long until the hunter has more knowledge of more farms, tress cut and possibly deer stands hung than he will have time to hunt. Those past their first season will come to find they truly are not in competition with other hunters and will being to shorten the time lag between reservations and the actual hunt. What scouting typically allows for is a continuing refinement or adaptation to the central mid west deer habitat as best demonstrated by the non-resident hunter. Regardless of how good our jump start hunting spot recommendations may be or how thorough the hunter's boots on the ground scouting may be what is common is for the hunter by his third season to have advanced onto properties completely different than those selected the first season. A greed factor also begins to show. The greed factor is that with the options available through MAHA the hunter begins to spend more time in search of better farms based on his own perception of what makes a good deer hunting spot. Soon that hunter will have too many places to hunt and starts to try to hunt them all. That does not work as well as the hunter that settles on three or fewer farms and hunts those farms hard. The point to this discussion is that MAHA provides managed hunting and all hunters eventually come to realize they can take a leisurely approach to their hunts and do eventually settle on their favored farms and enjoy a good number of years of good hunts. Pre season scouting is to a unit of land that ranges up into the thousands of acres. During any season be it spring turkey or early deer scouting reservations are to individually numbered properties to prevent competition and land pressure.
StandsAll deer stands are permissible except 2x4 and plywood or any type of nail in the tree wood stand. Lock-on, climbers, ladder, screw in steps are all permissible as well as manmade or natural blinds. Trees and scrub may be trimmed for stands and shooting lanes. Hand saws and pole saws only, no chainsaws on MAHA lease land. Not PerfectMAHA is not the right choice for all and we do not accept all that apply for membership. In terms of deer hunting two impacts should be considered. The first is we are a multi hunting discipline organization. The second is all land is first come first served - no seniority system. For the deer hunter that wants a single farm to hunt the entire season for himself and expects that for the annual membership fee that we charge has a completely un-realistic viewpoint on the cost of private hunting lease land. With our multi hunting discipline approach to paid do it yourself hunts we are able to secure far more lease acreage per hunter than we could if all we catered to were deer hunters. If we did just cater to only deer hunters we would only be able to afford much less lease acreage and the hunting pressure would be far more intense rotating multiple hunters through the same lease. An example would be a comparison to the bird hunters. Much of our land overlaps historic trophy deer and quail areas. Having a bird hunter and deer hunter hunt the same land at different times allows us more dollars per acre or more land available to all. Through our reservation system we prevent same day occupation. By this means that deer hunter is not limited to just one farm in a season he has additional lease acreage available for the flexibility of being on different habitat and stands dependent on weather and the season of the rut he prefers to hunt. With all lease land access equal to all members there will come to pass a circumstance of bad luck when two deer hunters will scout and find the same 40 acre cherry wood patch, both hunters will chose to hunt the same day and one will call in 10 seconds before the other. That is the way it is. While this is possible, it is not probable that will happen at any great frequency otherwise our hunters would not renew their memberships. Proof of this statement is our hunter pressure numbers showing the number of hunters per hunting discipline by state. Compared to the acreage and season days there is plenty of room for all we allocate membership to. The deer hunter testimonials offer further proof.
Our detailed whitetail deer hunting section complete with maps, habitat and each season descriptions |
